


What An Old Man Can Do

by WordsAreMusicForTheEyes



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: Accidental Voyeurism, Attempt at Humor, Body Dysmorphic Disorder, F/M, Flirting, Gratuitous Smut, I'm writing this to cure my obsession with attractive fictional father figures in games, Joel and Ellie's adorable father-daughter relationship, Joel unintentionally being a peeping Tom, Joel's POV, Mutual Attraction, Nudity, Older Man/Younger Woman, Scars, Teasing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-30
Updated: 2018-06-30
Packaged: 2019-05-31 09:35:47
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15116666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WordsAreMusicForTheEyes/pseuds/WordsAreMusicForTheEyes
Summary: You frequently tease and toy with Joel as a way of dealing with your attraction to him.One day, whilst enjoying some down-time at a lake, Joel accidentally sees a lot more of you than you're comfortable with.Vulnerabilities begin to surface, and when the three of you are holed up for the night in a house, Joel offers you emotional and physical comfort, leading to an unforgettable experience...





	What An Old Man Can Do

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, awesome beans! So I'm a complete newcomer to this particular 'fandom', having been recently inspired after watching a full playthrough of The Last Of Us and becoming hopelessly infatuated with Joel. I decided to throw myself into the deep end and write a disgustingly gratuitous, smutty piece of reader-insert trash because that's how I roll...
> 
> Anyways, as I'm new, there will very likely be some patchiness in characterisation despite my best efforts and my attempt at recreating Joel's gorgeous Texan dialect is likely to be utterly laughable...so please...be gentle with me! In advance, if I happen to have any Texan readers, I do apologise. Sincerely. 
> 
> So anyway, here it is- my latest piece of self-indulgent filth! It was originally going to be a one-shot, but me being me...I made it into a two-part work. I'm saving the smut for the second chapter. This first part is my way of testing the waters, I guess (and nothing to do with me being too lazy to write the whole thing in one go, nope, not at all)...

You stood in the kitchen of an abandoned house, gathering together as many items of non-perishable food as you could find. With a small groan, you heaved your rucksack up onto the grimy kitchen counter and began shoving in the salvaged supplies; tinned peaches and beans, a medley bag of dried fruit, nuts and seeds and a crinkly packet of beef jerky.

Hardly a veritable feast by any means, but a good find nonetheless.

“Find anything nice?” Ellie asked, ambling into the kitchen.

“Just the usual, kiddo, peaches, beans…oh, and some beef jerky, if that’s your thing,” you said, scouring the cupboards one last time for anything else of interest.

 

“I’m down for some beef jerky,” Ellie remarked companionably. You chuckled at the teenager.

“Here,” you rummaged around in your rucksack , retrieving the packet, then threw it to her. She caught it with both hands, smoothly. “Go wild!”

“Aw, thanks, dude,” she said, in good spirits.

Ellie’s upbeat manner never ceased to amaze you. For a few moments, you could almost kid yourself that things were normal, and you weren’t trying to survive in a broken world.

 

You had only been a child during the outbreak of the cordyceps infection, but you’d certainly lived long enough to know what ‘normality’ felt like and that you longed for its return with every passing day.

Twenty-one years on, you’d begun, albeit with a degree of desperate reluctance, to accept that life would never be as it was. It was only barely beginning to recover. It would be at least several decades before there was semblance of the ‘old world’.

Maybe it still wouldn’t work? The remnants of humanity had grown used to the brutality of apocalyptic living; they were too **feral** to thrive in a ‘normal’ society again.

 

“Hey, you doin’ okay?” Ellie asked, fiddling with the straps of her backpack.

“Huh? Oh, shit, yeah, I’m fine. Sorry. Got lost in my thoughts again,” you said, shaking your head as if it would help to clear your mind.

“It’s cool. Joel gets like that sometimes, too. You can totally tell, his face does this thing, like-“ Ellie then proceeded to impersonate the older man’s expression with hilarious accuracy.

You stifled a peal of laughter with the back of your hand, but the attempt was not entirely successful, as Joel soon came into the kitchen. Both you and Ellie were fighting back the urge to break out into childish giggles.

 

“What’s got you two all worked up?” Joel inquired, in that gravelly Texan drawl. Good God, even in a life-or-death situation, that voice could get you all flustered and school-girlish.

“Oh, nothing for you to worry about, Joel,” you replied coyly, “Girl talk.”

“Is that right?” Joel rallied in good humour.

“Absolutely. And no, we can’t tell you what we were talking about. We’re both sworn to secrecy, Joel, it’s part of the strict ‘girl talk’ policy. Be gone with you, old man,” you teased him affectionately. Ellie laughed and smiled up at Joel.

 

“Yes, ma’am,” Joel conceded, with a small chuckle, retreating out of the kitchen with his hands held aloft in surrender, “You ladies go right on ahead, don’t mind me.”

“Get back here, Texas, we need that sweet Southern charm of yours,” you toyed with the older man, no malice intended. It was purely for the reaction you always got out of him; that slight tilt of the head and the faint, crooked smile, the knowing look in his eyes.

The truth of the matter was, while you enjoyed teasing him and poking fun at him for being an ‘old man’, his age and quiet confidence were the very qualities that made him so attractive to you.

 

“Oh no, I know this little game o’ yours, darlin’,” Joel chuckled; a deep, husky sound that made your stomach flutter, “Besides, I gotta check upstairs for any supplies. Don’t let me stop you.” With that, he retreated steadily out of the kitchen.

“Ellie, make sure this one don’t go causin’ any trouble, now, y’hear?” Joel requested before he left the room, nodding his head in your direction.

“We both know she can be a _wild little filly_ ,” he added in sotto voice, deliberately exaggerating his accent to comedic effect. It served its purpose as Ellie laughed at the light-hearted jest.

 

“Joel, are you calling me a crazy horse? I take back that comment about your Southern charm,” you gasped, feigning offense, while you zipped up your rucksack.

“Hey, you said it, not me,” Joel retorted, making a purposeful beeline for the hallway.

“How’d you put up with him for more than a year, Ellie?” You asked the teenager, with a beaming smile.

“I’m still figurin’ that one out,” Ellie replied.

“I heard that!” Joel’s voice piped up from somewhere near the staircase. You and Ellie both snorted loudly and burst into companionable laughter, this time making no effort to suppress it.

 

 

To make your way out of the abandoned suburb without any confrontation from infected, the three of you traipsed into the back garden of the house you’d scavenged supplies from. From there, you’d all be able to clamber over a select few fences and take the more ‘backroad’ route out of there.

You were silently pleading that the journey back to Jackson would go smoothly. It was those small moments amongst you all, the joking and playful ribbing, that made the thought of losing either of them a painful prospect.

Joel took his position by the fence, hunkering down slightly and locking his fingers together.

Ellie stepped up and hoisted herself up and over the fence.

 

You lingered for a moment, still caught up in those unsettling thoughts, but quickly returned to present matters to find Joel looking at you, still waiting for you to brace yourself up and over the fence.

Instead of being met with an expression of impatience, you found his face to be one of gentle concern.

“You good, darlin’?”

“Yeah. Yeah, I’m fine, Joel. Sorry,” you whispered your apology for stalling, stepping forward to brace yourself up the fence. To lighten the suddenly heavy mood, you began to joke flirtatiously with the older man.

 

“Sure you can handle me, old man? I don’t want you busting a knee or throwing your back out,” you taunted, smiling coyly.

“Guess you’ll just have to find out,” he answered, his hazel eyes glinting with the mischief of a younger man.

“Get a room, you guys,” Ellie blurted out, from the other side of the fence.

You gave a small, soft laugh as you heaved yourself up with Joel’s assistance.

 

“Enjoying the view?” You said, looking down at Joel. From his angle, he was indeed getting an up close and personal view of your groin.

“You’re gettin’ mighty ahead o’ yourself, sweet pea,” he responded, cocking an eyebrow at you.

“It was an honest question,” you put on a pantomime of innocence, holding onto the fence.

“You’d best get your ass over this fence soon or I’ll be throwin’ you over it,” he warned you in good humour.

 

“Oh, oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to offend your sensibilities there, Joel, I appreciate you’re an old-fashioned kinda guy, since you’re a _fossil_ and all- **ahh**!” You gave a restrained shriek as Joel very nearly flung you over the fence.

He’d given you a good upwards push, so you were suddenly performing an impromptu balancing act on the fence.

“Joel, you’re an asshole!” You seethed.

“I did warn you, darlin’,” Joel said, “See where that smart-mouthin’ got you, now?”

“Okay, jeez, I shouldn’t have called you a fossil, I’m sorry,” you began, “I should have called you a relic, instead, _‘cause you’re a subject of my historical interest_ \- **oof**!”

 

Joel had quite matter-of-factly put his hand on your ass and shoved you off the fence. Ellie was thoroughly entertained by this exchange between you and the man who’d come to be her father figure.

Tall enough to hoist himself over the fence, Joel made quick work of clambering over. When the three of you were all reunited, you got up off the dusty ground and collected yourself, sweeping your clothes down pointedly.

“You’re such a dick,” you cursed the ex-smuggler, without any genuine contempt.

“I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you there, darlin’. Don’t know if you caught that there for me, Ellie? Must be the old age showin’,” Joel cupped his hand around his ear in a sarcastic gesture, “Sounded a little somethin’ like, ‘ ** _Joel, you are just the best, handsomest, most charmin’ man I’ve ever met and I promise never to make fun of your age again_** ’. Oh, why, thank you, little darlin’, ain’t you just the sweetest!”

 

You opened your mouth to say something, but Joel quickly intercepted you.

“Don’t you worry, sweet pea, one compliment’s enough. Better close your mouth before you go catchin’ flies,” Joel teased you. The man was more than capable of taking what you could dish out and giving it right back to you.

“Fuck you,” you rallied back; once again, without conviction.

“Not in front of Ellie, darlin’,” Joel chuckled, adjusting his rucksack, and making a move to resume the journey back to Jackson.

 

“Ugh, c’mon, Joel, that’s gross,” the teenage girl shuddered.

The older man threw his arm out and pulled Ellie towards him, for a quick side-hug, making sure to ruffle her hair into an unkempt mess. The gesture was met with a noise of protest mingled with laughter.

You followed the both of them.

As if to silently reassure you, Joel peered over his shoulder, smiling fondly at you. Given how rare it was to see that kind of epxression on the man's face, you couldn't help but feel rather blessed.

 

* * *

 

 

A couple of days later, and several miles closer to your destination, the three of you decided to have some respite from endless travelling. You’d found a lake, free of infected, with beautifully crisp, clear water untainted by pollution or filth.

“I’m gonna have a wash, I’m sure I smell pretty ripe at the moment,” you said, eager to feel fresh water against your skin.

“Don’t go too far,” Joel reminded you, “Y’know, just in case…”

“I know, Joel. I’ll just be over there,” you pointed to nearby spot on the lake’s edge, hidden by shrubbery and the low-hanging branch of a tree from where you all stood. “Close but…y’know, not _too close_.”

“Sure thing. Just…be careful,” he said.

 

You wandered off, pushing past the foliage, and ducking under the low branch, finding your quiet spot to undress and wash. Taking off your rucksack was literally a weight off your shoulders. You let out a sigh of relief as you felt the tension in your muscles ease from ridding yourself of such a heavy bulk.

Making quick work of stripping off your boots and clothing, you tread lightly down the shallow embankment and waded out into the lake, taking care not to stray too far from the edge.

The cool water soothed the aches in your muscles and bones and staved off the cloying, humid summertime warmth. You scooped handfuls of the water and threw it against your face, over your hair, splashed it on your underarms and over your shoulders.

 

Scrubbing your skin gently with the palms of your hands, you felt the raised, thick tissue of scars littering your body. Along your collarbone, on your shoulders and arms, above your breasts, across your belly and back; some small and round as tiny coins from teenage acne and some were long and thin, like the ones that trailed down the length of your thighs.

Hard living and no access to pharmaceutical treatments had left your body marred by these countless imperfections. Even in the warm weather, you’d been diligent in keeping yourself covered.

As close as you were to Joel and Ellie, you couldn’t bear the thought of either of them seeing your scars. You knew that they would be completely indifferent to them or, at the very least, non-judgemental. You just couldn’t convince yourself enough to overcome the insecurity.

 

* * *

 

“Ellie, how’s about we start your first swimmin’ lesson?” Joel suggested. The girl’s face lit up.

“Yeah! I’d like that!”

“Alright then,” Joel dropped his rucksack, glad to be rid of the heavy weight. He rolled his shoulders forward to pop his joints and stretched his arms to ease the strain in his muscles.

“Um, one problem, we don’t have anything to wear?” Ellie considered, dropping her backpack beside Joel’s.

“We’ll just stay in our clothes,” the older man shrugged.

 

“Aw, but they’ll get wet!” Ellie huffed.

“They’ll dry off just fine, baby girl,” he admonished her affectionately, “C’mon, you gotta start learnin’ some time. You remember what happened with the bus?”

“Yeah,” the teenager recalled the incident, sobering immediately.

“I don’t want that to happen again, but if somethin’ like that _does_ happen, I want you to be able to get yourself outta there,” Joel told her frankly.

 

It was the honest truth. Joel had grown to see Ellie as his own daughter. He hoped to God she would never find herself in a dangerous situation again, but he knew that was impossible given the circumstances. At the very least, he would make sure Ellie was equipped with all the skills to survive in this world.

“C’mon, let’s start this,” Joel encouraged her. Ellie exhaled, bracing herself.

“Okay. Oh boy. Here goes!” She said, geeing herself up.

 

Joel patiently guided Ellie through the first few ‘steps’ of swimming, letting her take her time and build up to swimming over to him in a steady breaststroke. There was some panicky splashes and some frantic calls to him initially, but with gentle encouragement and reassurance, Ellie was soon swimming short distances.

“You got this, baby girl, c’mon,” Joel called to her as she swam toward him. The girl was shakily breathing out and muttering words of motivation to herself, repeating Joel’s own words.

“You got this, Ellie, you got this,” she whispered to herself, slowly swimming forward, “Oh shit!”

 

“Almost there,” the older man said, holding out his arms just above the water. Within a brief space of time, Ellie had finally reached him and frantically clung to him, swearing, laughing and trembling all at the same time.

“Oh man! Shit! I did it! I fucking did it! Oh man! Joel, I did it!”

“Yes, you did,” Joel said proudly, holding her in the water and giving her a chance to gather her courage again. “Think you can do it again and swim back to the lake’s edge?”

“I-I think so,” Ellie said nervously.

 

“I’ll be right beside you the whole time,” Joel promised.

“O-okay, yeah. Wait, I just need a little more time before I-“

“Take your time, baby girl, it’s alright, you go on when you’re ready,” the older man told her kindly.

“Yeah, sure thing!”

Joel waited for Ellie to summon up her nerves and swim back to embankment. As he waited, he glanced off to the side, wondering if you were okay.

 

It dawned on him that the spot you’d selected may have been private from the edge of the lake but, from where he was, you were fully exposed. He figured you’d not anticipated that either he or Ellie would be swimming out especially far.

You’d finished washing and were stood, completely naked and-as far as he could tell-soaking wet, on the embankment, tugging fresh clothes from the bottom of your rucksack.

Though he was enough of a gentleman not to let his eyes linger, he wasn’t dead either. _Old man_ or not, things could still stir quite easily down below. It had been a long time since he’d been intimate with a woman, so it didn’t take too much for his blood to run as hot as it had done in his younger days.

 

Joel was perfectly aware that you were attracted to him. He’d known since the first couple of days of you tagging along with him and Ellie. You weren’t as subtle as you may have intended to be; but perhaps you weren’t trying to be subtle at all?   

It was easy to see through the teasing and playful taunts. They were same tactics he’d employed himself when he was much younger.

He wasn’t blind to the small gestures either. The lingering looks, that certain _something_ in your eyes when you spoke to him, the sharp little intake of breath, that made your breasts swell, when he stood close to you, that small upward twitch of your ass and swing of your hips if you knew he was walking behind you.

 

Joel knew you wanted him. And, if he was being completely honest with himself, he wanted you. If you caught him in the right frame of mind, and the appropriate time and place, he would have been more than willing to blow your back out.

On a few occasions, Joel had privately speculated on past lovers you may have had. He knew for damn sure it was no business of his, but he saw no harm in _only_ thinking about it.

Were they your age? Were they _his_ age? Were they somewhere in between?

You certainly seemed fixated on ribbing him for his supposed ‘old age’. Joel had a strong suspicion that you taunted him so much for it because it was something that turned you on.

Nearly all the time, he took the jests over his age in good humour, but sometimes- just sometimes-it lit a fuse inside of him and made him want to grab you, just so he could show you that maturity had its own _satisfying_ advantages.

 

Joel soon realised he’d allowed his eyes to linger a moment too long and his inattention to his Ellie repeating his name had roused her own curiosity.

“Joel? Hey, Joel? Dude, are you still with me?” She jokingly inquired.

“Ellie,” Joel said in a low voice, shifting his focus back to her and trying to hide his guilt. He had hoped Ellie would mistake his watchful gaze for a pensive stare, but the teenager was far too sharp to be fooled.

“You’re a dirty old man,” Ellie made fun of him, casting a quick glance in your direction.

 

“What are you talkin’ about?” Joel feigned ignorance.

“Oh please, don’t gimme that bullshit, you know and _I_ know what you were doin’, Joel,” Ellie shook her head at him.

“Ellie, I was just checkin’ up on her, makin’ sure she alright-“

“Yeah, yeah, sure you were,” Ellie snorted loudly, “Yeah, you were checking up on her real closely.”

“ _Ellie_ ,” Joel grumbled. You swivelled your head round and caught Joel looking across at you.

 

By that point, you were almost fully clothed, all except for a t-shirt; which you frantically yanked over your head, no doubt rushing to cover yourself from prying eyes. He noticed you tugging on a long-sleeved hoodie, which seemed a little unnecessary in this heat.

With a sheepish demeanour, you sank down to the ground, with your back to your travelling companions and began squeezing the last few drops of water from your damp hair.

Joel, though not aware of the reason for your self-conscious response, found himself feeling an unpleasant pang of guilt.

 

* * *

 

You’d been quick to cover up the very moment you’d spotted Joel looking over. It would have been bordering on impossible for him, or Ellie, for that matter, to even catch a glimpse of your extensive scarring.

Logic, however, did not sway you, as you’d rushed to pull your clothes on.

You didn’t want them to see.

You didn’t want _him_ to see.

 

It was bizarre. You’d been told of the ways of the world before the infection, of how people suffered from poor body image. The size of their stomachs, their faces, their hair, too much weight or not enough weight, acne and the ‘curse’ of unwanted body hair; all of these things had become unimportant.

Concerns over weight were a thing of the past, given that most survivors of the cordyceps infection were often wondering when they’d next be able to eat. Body hair was just hair. You could remove it, if you had the luxury of time and a razor to spare. Pretty face or not? What did it even matter? So long as that damn fungus wasn’t growing out of it, who gave a shit?

The scars?

They shouldn’t have mattered, but they did.

 

You knew who to blame for making you feel that way.

The things he’d said to you still resonated within you. Every time you looked at your bare skin, you heard his voice and it felt like a fresh dose of poison.

You found Joel attractive and maybe he’d already figured that out. Maybe he even reciprocated the feeling, but of that you couldn’t be certain.

One thing you’d convinced yourself to be absolute, irrefutable fact was that Joel would surely react in the same way to your body as the last guy had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, in case anyone's wondering, the inspiration for the reader's insecurity is a particular aspect of my own body dysmorphic disorder (I've got a LOT of things I pick at myself over). I have dreadful scarring on my shoulders and upper back from acne in my early teen years, and I'm painfully self-conscious of it when I wear certain tops and dresses. It makes me feel gross. I guess I kind of wanted to throw that into this story as a way of coping with it.
> 
> If this resonates with you in some way, I just want you to know, you're not alone <3


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